Kouri Richins to Stand Trial After Writing Children’s Book About Grief
kouri richins will face a jury this month after prosecutors say her husband died of an illicit fentanyl overdose on March 4, 2022 — a case that drew national attention because she later published a children’s book about grief and spoke about the loss on television.
Kouri Richins trial timeline
Jury selection began Feb. 10, and opening statements are scheduled to start Feb. 23, with the trial expected to run through March 26. A judge denied the defense’s repeated requests to move the trial from Summit County to Salt Lake City.
Prosecutors have charged Richins with felony offenses that include aggravated murder, insurance fraud and forgery; court filings describe an additional attempted-death charge in differing terms. If convicted of the most serious count, she could face life in prison; prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty.
Medical examiner findings and the death scene
Investigators say Eric Richins was found unresponsive in the couple’s bedroom after a night of celebratory drinks. Emergency personnel located him at the foot of the bed and performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A medical examiner later found five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system and described the drug as illicit, not medical-grade.
Court documents quoted by prosecutors allege that Kouri Richins made a Moscow mule for her husband on the night he died, that she told investigators she slept in a child’s bedroom that night, and that she discovered him cold to the touch when she checked on him. Richins has pleaded not guilty.
Defense stance and courtroom posture
Richins’s attorneys have characterized their client as a mother who wants to return to her children and have pushed for a full airing of evidence in court. “Kouri has waited nearly three years for this moment: the opportunity to have the facts of this case heard by a jury, free from the prosecution’s narrative that has dominated headlines since her arrest, ” her lawyers said in a joint statement. “What the public has been told bears little resemblance to the truth. We welcome the courtroom, where evidence is bound by rules, not sensational coverage. ”
The defense has questioned elements of the prosecution’s evidence and suggested the possibility that Eric Richins may have obtained the drugs himself. Eric and Kouri Richins were raising three sons and were both active in local business — she ran a real estate company and he owned a stonemasonry business — details that figure in pretrial filings and the public narrative surrounding the case.
Prosecutors say financial motives were part of the alleged scheme: charging documents claim Richins carried significant debt, obtained life insurance policies naming herself as beneficiary, and stood to collect close to $2 million in benefits; additional financial crime charges related to alleged fraud remain pending.
The family of the deceased has publicly expressed support for the prosecution’s handling of the investigation. Defense lawyers and the prosecution are set to begin presenting their cases when opening statements start Feb. 23, followed by witness testimony and evidence through the court’s scheduled calendar into late March.
